Rapid migration, population growth of 1.3% per annum, increasing urbanization of our cities, the rise of nuclear families, access to credit and enhanced disposable incomes have kept the housing demand on constant rise. Progressive Indians are constantly upgrading their lifestyles with improving economic conditions.

All these factors braved the policy overhauls such as RERA and GST in 2018, and affordable housing accounted for 41%--the lion’s share of the new launch supply--of 1,93,600 units by the end of 2018 as against the 32% in the previous year.

This clearly establishes the fact that the year 2018 belonged to the affordable housing. Of course, with time the definition of affordability has evolved into a more acceptable one for each micro-market.

The government has taken initiatives to reduce extreme housing deficit in metro cities that have been the mainstays for economic development. The shortfall of 10-12 million homes with over 26-37 million informal housing, the government of India launched the Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojna (PMAY). It is a scheme which intends to provide new affordable housing in the range of Rs 25 to 50 Lakh.

Along with the government’s aggressive stance for this segment of housing, easy accessibility to home loans at affordable rates, interest subsidies on home loan for the middle and lower income group and greater stress on providing infrastructure along growth corridors of tier 2 and 3 cities led to higher demand for affordable housing in metro cities like Mumbai.

Considering the high demand in the MMR for affordable housing the state government of Maharashtra too has set a separate target of 19.4 lakh affordable homes to be set up by 2022 and around 11 lakh of these homes are to be constructed in the MMR alone.

The government has also increased the carpet area of houses eligible under PMAY (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana), which is more in line with the market requirements.

Besides, banks are also willing to fund these projects and see potential in this segment, players in the markets are gearing up to develop affordable housing projects, which are expected to improve the market sentiments in the time to come.

The tempo over affordable housing is expected to continue in the year 2019. The affordable housing segment is expected to grow at a rate of over 30% in the medium term.

This growth will further be fuelled with a reduction in GST on under construction projects. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has given its approval for the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) platform, which allows investors to invest in the Indian realty industry. This would aid increase of the cash flow in the sector and create openings worth billions over the years. Likewise, the liberalization of the FDI norms will further improve the cash flow into the sector and encourage a robust environment.

Developers and buyers both have elevated their game; buyers have become bolder with more transparency and prospects in the market and the developers have observed a more suave and regulatory business process. Today’s market is steady for buyers; choices are accessible, making it a good time to capitalize in a house. Also the latest move of linking the Aadhaar with all the property transactions and RERA discipline are all positive steps taken for the growth of the industry.